


Worse Places To Be

by Siivin



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 02:53:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13988952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siivin/pseuds/Siivin
Summary: Well. Alright. In hindsight, they probably shouldn't have let an eleven-year-old accompany them no matter how minor the mission seemed. And in retrospect, "the Director and I discussed the possibility of fieldwork" wasn't exactly the same thing as "the Director said I could go on this mission".Listen. It seemed like a good idea at the time.





	Worse Places To Be

Just once, Taako thought. Just once, it would be so nice to have something go smoothly for a change. And they had been so _close_ this time.

It had started out normally enough, or at least what passed for normal these days. Some small-time mission, not even worth Bureau attention honestly, but Madame Director felt that it would be a "good field exercise" for the Reclaimers. Which was probably code for "get off this goddamn moon before you antagonize someone to the breaking point", but whatever, things were getting boring anyway. Besides, intel was that it was just some small-time magic user in some long-abandoned temple. Easy, they said. Won't even have to break a sweat, they said.

Taako was going to have _words_ with someone when they got back. After a six-hour hike just to find the damn place and a particularly messy run-in with a grumpy owlbear, the last thing he needed was to find the "small-time" mage was significantly stronger than previously suggested.

Still, things had been looking up. Merle had taken some kind of sleep spell early on and had missed most of the fight, but like that was any major loss. Taako and Magnus had both taken some heavy hits and Taako was out of spell slots but so was their opponent, judging by the crossbow he was now waving around. He still had some kind of shield spell up that was preventing Magnus from closing in, but that couldn't last forever. Five more minutes and they'd have this whole thing wrapped up nice and neat.

And then. Well. Alright. _In hindsight_ , they probably shouldn't have let an eleven-year-old accompany them no matter how minor the mission seemed. And _in retrospect_ , "the Director and I discussed the possibility of fieldwork" wasn't exactly the same thing as "the Director said I could go on this mission". But Merle had just scoffed and said the kid could use some character-building, and Magnus thought it would be fun to bring him, and what did Taako care, really? Sure, hell, bring the kid. Show him some real magic for once.

Listen. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

It seemed like less of a good idea when Angus tripped while trying to sneak into the crumbling temple, startling the crazed lunatic at the far end of the room. It seemed like a downright bad idea when the man whirled to level the crossbow at him and fired twice while Angus was still scrambling back to his feet.

So yeah. It wasn't a surprise that things had gone sideways, but Taako was still pissed about it. And he was pissed that he didn't have an excuse for what happened next.

It's not that he couldn't think of another option, because contrary to carefully-cultivated popular belief, he was actually pretty damn fast at thinking on his feet. It's just that there wasn't anything else _to_ do. He was out of spell slots, so he couldn't cast a shield. Merle was still out and Magnus was on the other side of the evil wizard, still being rebuffed by his shield and far too far away to help.

He certainly wasn't prepared to admit that he was moving the second he saw the crossbow swing around. Taako didn't _do_ self-sacrifice. He certainly didn't do it for dumb kid detectives who shouldn't even have been there because they told him to _stay outside, damnit -_

Shit. This was totally gonna wreck his reputation.

The bolts struck hard and he staggered back a step, suddenly breathless, his entire body going numb. He dropped to one knee, one arm curled protectively around his midsection as he struggled to breathe in again. Distantly, he thought he heard Magnus yelling something, but he couldn't seem to focus enough to make out the words. The lights dimmed and the room seemed to be blurring at the edges, and if he could - if he could just remember how to _breathe_ -

It wasn't until a hand touched his shoulder that everything snapped back into focus and he was able to take a ragged breath in. And okay, yep, there was the pain, right on schedule. Taako doubled over further as his vision whited out momentarily.

"-ako? Taako sir!" Angus, of course, predictably already in tears. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright? Please be okay sir!"

Taako slapped his hand away and shifted over a few inches until he could lean against a nearby column. "Calm down kid, I'm fine," he lied. Over Angus' shoulder he could see that the mage's shield had dropped, and he watched in satisfaction as Magnus made short work of the bastard. "Taako's been in worse scrapes than this, don't even sweat it." Angus hovered over him nervously, still reaching out as though to help before letting his hand drop.

Magnus arrived a moment later at a sprint, panic visible in his eyes. "Taako! Are you alright?" Taako rolled his eyes.

"Peachy, my dude," he drawled. "There's just an _arrow in my chest_ , is all. I mean, aside from that _minor detail_ though, I'm fucking great. Never been better."

Magnus ignored him in favor of inspecting the wounds, brushing past the chest wound and pulling Taako's arm away from the bolt lodged in his stomach. They were both bleeding more heavily now, more blood staining his shirt with every shallow breath he took. "Shit," Magnus said, hands fluttering uselessly. "Don't worry. I'm gonna go get Merle and he'll get you healed right up."

"Sure. Gotta be a first time for everything, I guess," Taako sniped.

"Just stay here and don't move," Magnus said. "Angus, keep an eye on him, I'll be right back." Angus nodded mutely, tears still streaming down his face as Magnus departed. Ugh. Somehow it was more discomfiting than the arrows.

"Listen kid," he said. "Don't worry. I'll deny this if you ever repeat it, but Merle's not actually that bad. He'll get this fixed right up, alright?" Provided he woke up in the next thirty seconds at least, although Taako neglected to mention this aloud.

"I - I'm just so sorry sir! This is all my fault and I - I should have -"

"Wait, wait," Taako said, shifting slightly on the dusty floor. "Run that one by me again, 'cause I don't remember you shooting me."

"He was aiming at me, sir, and I saw you get in the way, and you shouldn't have! I - I would have moved!" Damn it. He'd really been hoping Angus hadn't seen that, though he probably should've known better. The kid really was a good detective, not much escaped him.

"Cut the crap kid, we both know you weren't gonna move in time. And do you think I want to go back to base and explain that to the Director? She would kill me on the spot, Ango. This was an act of self-preservation!"

His bravado was slightly undercut by a sudden coughing fit, and despite his best efforts he knew Angus saw the blood splatter across his sleeve. He had to take a minute to catch his breath, as best he could anyway, and when he looked up again he could see the guilt in Angus' eyes. The kind of guilt he himself was all too familiar with. And as much as he would love to brush this whole 'emotions' thing off, he's running out of time fast, and this kind of guilt isn't something he'd burden anyone with, much less a child. Much less _Angus_.

He reached out to catch Angus' shoulder. "Angus," he said seriously. "Look at me." He waited until Angus raised his head and met his gaze. "None of this is your fault. It was our bad for putting you in that position, alright?"

Angus look thoroughly unconvinced. "You got hurt because of me," he whispered.

"No, I got hurt because we were in a shitty situation and shitty things happened. 'S not anyone's fault, bubuleh, it's part of the job. And." He hesitated, but it's funny how an arrow in the chest will lower your inhibitions. "I'd - I'd do it again in a heartbeat. That was my decision and I don't regret it, so I don't wanna hear you trying to take credit for it, _capiche_?

If anything, Angus was crying harder now. "It's - it'll be alright sir, Merle will be over soon -"

Not soon enough, Taako thought, but he didn't have the heart to say it. Angus probably knew anyway. He reached for Angus's hand, holding it tightly. The edges of his vision were going black, and if this is where he checked out then he sure as hell wasn't going out without an awesome dying line. He just had to think of something appropriately kick-ass to say.

"Love you, kiddo," he heard himself say. Fuck. Well, he didn't really have the energy to come up with anything better anyway. "But tell those other two dipshits I said something way cooler, okay?" Not ideal, but his breath was catching in his throat, and his eyes were sliding shut against his will. Distantly he heard Angus's increasingly panicked voice calling his name, and had just enough time to feel slightly guilty about the whole situation before going under completely.

***

Angus had been in lots of frightening situations, but feeling Taako's hand go limp was by far the scariest. For a second he was sure that Taako was - was -

But he wasn't, not yet at least. His breathing was ragged and had a horrible wet quality to it, but it was still there. Angus looked hopefully at the far end of the room, but there was no sign of Magnus or Merle.

Angus got to his feet slowly, fighting the terrible conviction that Taako would stop breathing the second he left. It was almost enough to make him sit back down - he would never forgive himself if Taako - if something happened while he was gone - but it was obvious there was no time to waste.

He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. This was his fault, and he had to at least try to fix it. So he turned and ran as fast as he could towards the far end of the room without looking back.

Magnus came into view quickly from behind a column, kneeling over a still-unconscious Merle and looking frustrated. He glanced up as Angus approached and visibly blanched.

"Angus! Is - is Taako -" He cut off as Angus shook his head.

"He's unconscious, but I think we have very little time left, sir. What's wrong with Merle?"

"I don't know!" Magnus growled. "He seems fine, he just won't wake up. The spell should have ended when the caster died, and I don't know why it didn't."

Angus cast a nervous glance at the body behind him. "He is dead, right?"

"He's definitely dead, I made sure of that," Magnus said, settling back on his heels. "But I don't know what else to do and we're out of time."

Angus stayed quiet, thinking very hard. A spell almost always ended when its caster died. There were a few exceptions, but a simple sleep spell shouldn't be one of them. Unless . . .

His eyes darted over to the body again, and he was up and running before he finished processing the thought, ignoring Magnus's startled shout. He tried not to look at the actual corpse - Magnus hadn't been lying when he said he made sure he was dead, and there was a lot of blood - but _there_! Lying next to the body was a tall staff, the green gem at the top still glowing faintly.

Angus didn't hesitate in snatching up the staff and bringing the gem down onto the stone floor with all his might, and the gem shattered with a small explosion of light. Almost immediately, he heard movement behind him and whirled around to see Merle sitting up, head held in one hand.

"What -" he started, and was abruptly cut off by Magnus physically lifting him.

"No time old man, just get ready to heal!" he said, sprinting off with Merle tucked firmly under one arm.

Angus followed slowly, completely terrified of what he would find. He'd left Taako alone, he'd been dying and Angus had just _left_ him there alone on the cold stone, and he knew now, he _knew_ with an implacable certainty that he'd been too late. How could he look Merle and Magnus in the eye after this? How could he return to the moon base when he was responsible for the loss of a Reclaimer? How could he live with himself, when it was his fault that Taako would never tease him or call him names or teach him magic ever again?

He didn't notice that he'd stopped walking until a gruff voice spoke next to him. "Hey kid, you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" Angus shook his head as Merle eyed him over distrustfully, but he must have been satisfied with whatever he saw because he turned and started walking away. "Well come on then, we're getting out of here before this godsforsaken place throws anything else at us."

Angus followed him mutely a few more meters until he stepped aside to reveal -

\- Taako, still unconscious, but with arrows removed and breathing regularly. Angus was almost knocked over by the wave of sheer relief that swept through him.

"Yeah, he's fine," Merle said, noticing him looking. "Should be up in a few minutes."

"Hey yeah, great job with that staff, Ango!" Magnus said enthusiastically. "You really saved our bacon on that one. Good thing we brought you along!"

Angus smiled thinly. Everything was alright. Everyone was fine. But he kept a careful watch on Taako's still form as Magnus lifted him effortlessly. And if he stuck a little closer to Magnus on the way out of the cave, well, no one said anything.

Getting out of the temple went significantly quicker than getting in and they emerged into the sunlight just a few minutes later. Once outside, Magnus set Taako down before flopping down next to him on the grass as Merle called for transport. For all his cheer, Angus noticed he sat close enough to Taako to be touching, and he cast nervous glances at the wizard every few seconds.

It wasn't long before Taako stirred, only to be immediately engulfed in a bear hug by Magnus. "Hey, thought you were a goner there for a while!" he said cheerfully, and someone less observant than Angus probably wouldn't have even noticed the slight shake in his hands.

"Yeah, can't get rid of me that easily, homie," Taako said blearily. He tolerated the hug for another few moments before pushing Magnus off and glancing around, his gaze settling on Merle. "Hey old man, did you enjoy that nap you took while I was _dying_?"

Merle scowled. "Woke up in time to save your ass, didn't I?"

"Could've just stayed awake and saved us all a lot of trouble!"

"Yeah, well who's the dumbass who got himself shot?"

Angus tensed up but Taako just shrugged. "Part of the adventurer package, my man. That's why we bring you along."

"Yeah, well . . . don't do it again. I'm too old to be under that kind of stress," Merle said, rolling his eyes.

Taako's gaze swung over to Angus, still standing a few feet away, and he fought back the urge to shrink away. If Taako was going to get angry he probably would have by now, but that didn't mean he was happy. Angus knew he'd fucked up. No doubt Taako would let him know it.

But despite his nonchalant tone, his eyes held nothing but genuine concern when he asked "What about you, kiddo? You good?"

And that was all it took for the dam to break; before he knew it, Angus had his arms wrapped around Taako's waist and he was sobbing desperately, choking out half-formed apologies into Taako's bloodstained shirt.

***

Taako stiffened, visibly at a loss, before hesitantly raising his arms to return the hug. He sent a panicked look over the top of Angus's curls and a brief, silent conversation followed.

"Uhh . . . hey Merle, we'd better go . . . watch for the sphere," Magnus said awkwardly, retreating to the other side of the clearing.

"Don't have to tell me twice. I'm not dealing with the little pipsqueak," Merle grumbled as he followed. Taako mentally cursed the cowards as they fled, leaving him with a crying child and absolutely no clue what to do.

A few moments after they left, Taako gently disentangled himself and knelt down so he was level with Angus. He winced when he noticed the blood now streaking Angus's jacket; a quick wave of his hand left both of them spotless.

"Hey pumpkin, what's with the waterworks? I told you not to worry, didn't I?"

"Sorry," Angus mumbled. "That was just - that was really scary, sir. You almost died."

"Eh, I almost die a lot, it happens," Taako said. Angus looked like he might cry again and Taako backpedaled frantically. "But I haven't yet! See? Totally fine. Gonna take a lot more than an arrow to keep Taako down, baby."

Angus still refused to meet his eyes and Taako sighed, remembering the stifled apologies from a few moments before. He hesitated for just a moment before pulling Angus into another hug. Gods, this 'emotions' thing was bullshit. "And I meant what I said before. Not your fault. You're our responsibility, not the other way around. And . . . we don't want anything to happen to you, okay?"

He felt a weak nod against his chest and heard a murmured "Okay". They stayed that way for another minute before Taako pushed him away, not ungently, and flopped back onto the ground, leaning up against a fallen log. "Besides, what would the Director say if we came back and told her we got our favorite Seeker poked full of holes? I'm not joking, Agnes, she'd murder all of us."

Angus gave a weak chuckle and tentatively took a seat next to Taako, who immediately draped an arm across his shoulders as he continued insisting "I'm serious, don't cross her! She's a very scary woman." He pulled Angus a little closer. For the kid's benefit, of course. Definitely not because he kept envisioning what might have happened if he hadn't been fast enough. It was just to keep Angus quiet. Obviously.

They spent the next few moments in silence, Angus's weight gradually resting more and more heavily on Taako's side as Taako ran a hand through his curls. He was just wondering if the kid had fallen asleep when a tired voice said "I love you Taako. I'm glad you're not dead!"

Taako scoffed. "Yeah, you and the rest of this gods-forsaken plane." He paused a moment, still running his fingers through Angus's hair. "Love you too though," he added quietly. A minute later, Angus's breathing settled into the deep, heavy pattern of sleep.

The sphere probably wouldn't arrive for another half hour or so. Until then, Taako figured, there's worse places to be.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to get back into writing, constructive criticism is welcome!


End file.
